Generally, there are two types of 12-inch front opening wafer boxes. One is the front-opening unified pod (FOUP) for the indoor processing usage, and the other is the front-opening shipping box (FOSB) for the outdoor transportation usage. During the transportation of the FOSB the opening faces upward, but when the wafers are taken out from the FOSB, the opening faces forward. Therefore, a handle device has been designed for conveniently changing the opening direction of a wafer box.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a three-dimensional view showing a wafer box with a handle device according to the prior art. The handle device 10 with the circular holding portion 11 is connected to the wafer box 20 via the engaging portion 12. The operator can grip the handle device 10 when transporting the wafer box. Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a three-dimensional side view showing a wafer box according to the prior art. The wafer box 20 includes the placing portion 21 for placing the engaging portion 12 and includes the edge 22 of gradually decreased width for tightly enhancing the connection between the wafer box 20 and the handle device 10. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the handle device 10 has the circular holding portion 11. Therefore, it is not easy to hold the wafer box evenly and securely with digits, and it is quite easy that the wafer box is slipped off the hands of the operator during the transportation. Due to the foregoing reasons, the operator often transports the wafer box by directly holding the box in his arms, which is an inadequate method to transport a wafer box.
From the above description, it is known that the design of the handle device with a circular holding portion is not ideal for transportation. Therefore, how to facilitate the transportation and stabilize the transportation process have become major problems waited to be solved in the industry. In order to overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, a wafer box with a handle device is provided. The particular design in the present invention not only solves the problem that the wafer boxes are easily slipped off the hands, but also enhances the stability of holding the wafer boxes during the transportation.